Teen Tells of Abuse by Once-Prominent Lawyer in Videotaped Interview
In a videotaped interview played in court on Tuesday, a 15-year-old boy alternatively referred to the lawyer who had befriended him over the years, sharing pornography and then initiating sex in an October encounter, as “Aaron” and “Mr. Biber.”
Aaron Biber was formerly the co-chair of the antitrust and trade regulation practice group at Gray Plant Mooty. A friend of the teen’s father, Biber pleaded guilty last week to first-degree sexual conduct with a minor over whom he had authority.
Prosecutors hope the videotaped interview will support their effort to obtain a longer prison sentence, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. Prosecutors contend Biber should be sentenced to more than 12 years in prison because he “worked the victim” over several years, culminating in the boy’s rape.
The teen said he was only 13 or 14 when Biber began sharing pornography with him, and while he thought Biber’s sexual messages were weird, he allowed it because he valued the friendship, according to the Star Tribune account.
A social worker treating the boy for depression conducted the videotaped interview after reporting the sexual abuse allegation to police.
